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In an earlier post, Joe asked why I was pre-mixing in my 2000 70 HP Johnson, and I mistakenly replied that the motor came without VRO from the factory. I looked a little closer, and the VRO had been removed. After reading posts about the advantages of VRO and the incorrect false accusations on VRO, I am considering reinstalling.

Several questions - how difficult will this be? It appears to simply be hooking up the tank and re-plugging a couple of wires. Used tanks seem to be available for $25 to $75.

Is there anything special to look for on the tank? Year? etc??

What wires need to be hooked up?

Is there any potential damage to the VRO pump from having run witout oil going through it?

Is there a way to make sure it is working? I would think I should run pre-mixed fuel until I am surethe re-installation is working?

Other thoughts or suggestions?

Thanks

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If you get the factory service manual (recommended) it will tell you to run pre-mix until you have tested and ensured the VRO is working - at least my 1989 manual did. You'll also want to make sure the alarm is up and working.

Tim

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Chances are the VRO was bypassed because the pump quit working or the previous owner did not trust it. A simple fuel pump is rather inexpensive while a new VRO pump is very costly. There is also a procedure for priming the VRO pump to make sure it is pumping that is quite complicated for a novice and could be very disastrous if not done 100% right. This is why those in the know tell you to pre mix the tank while working with getting the VRO working correctly.

I know for my motor the VRO fuel/oil pump costs about $450 while a standard fuel only pump is around $50. I have heard many horror stories and they may be just that but the early VRO systems worked great until they quit working and then the fun and disappointment began. The newer VRO systems were much more reliable but I have to wonder how many motors were trashed when the systems failed.

I saved this article a while back.

(VRO Pump Conversion To Straight Fuel Pump)
(J. Reeves)

You can convert the VRO pump into a straight fuel pump, eliminating the oil tank and VRO pump warning system, but retain the overheat warning setup (and fuel restriction warning if so equipped) by doing the following:

1 - Cut and plug the oil line at the engine so that the oil side of the VRO pump will not draw air into its system. Trace the wires from the back of the VRO to its rubber plug (electrical plug) and disconnect it.

2 - Trace the two wires from the oil tank to the engine, disconnect those two wires, then remove them and the oil tank.

3 - Mix the 50/1 oil in the proper amount with whatever quantity fuel you have. Disconnect the fuel line at the engine. Pump the fuel primer bulb until fuel exits that hose with the tint of whatever oil you used. Reconnect the fuel hose.

That's it. If you want to test the heat warning system to ease your mind, have the key in the on position, then ground out the tan heat sensor wire that you'll find protruding from the cylinder head. The warning horn should sound off.

NOTE: If the VRO is completely shot, you could also do away with it altogether and install a regular fuel pump. Some other member will need to supply you with the smaller fuel pump part number.

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personally, i have lost 3 powerheads over the years due to VRO pump failure. i trust my pre-mix to ALWAYS work. of course, your experiences may differ from mine.

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We have an article on OMC VRO.......
http://www.whalercentral.com/articles...icle_id=15

rvshulz,
And who determined it was the VRO that caused the problem?
Many mechanics automatically blame the VRO because they really don't know what caused the problem.

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Having just replaced my VRO I can say the procedure is actually quite simple and straightforward, though it does require a temporary fuel supply with the proper oil:fuel ratio.

John K.

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Thanks to all for the information and opinions. It's a 90% chance I will go with the re-install.

One other question: assuming the pump was OK prior to the removal of the tank and disconnecting the wiring, would the pump have been damaged from running with no oil going through it? Also, it looks like the opening going to the pump was not plugged - what, if any, problems could that be?

Thanks

Joe, that was a good article and what I was looking for. Thanks

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I don't know if you've seen this article:
The VRO Myth

John K.

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Everyone blames it on the poor VRO...

In reality, the VRO rarely fails.

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Great article "Gage" and it does tell me a lot about my 1984 V4 with VRO and no wires. I did talk with a local shop here and asked about updating the early VRO to the newer systems with the alarms and wires. He would be glad to do it but said it would probably cost more than the engine is worth in today's market.
I had to face some realities and ask myself just how much longer I can expect a 28 year old motor to keep running.

I can't answer the question about if the pump could be damaged from running dry but I would follow the procedures to get it hooked up and primed and check to be sure the alarms are working. My first generation VRO has no alarms except the over heat one and I just opted to go with a standard fuel pump and hand mixing rather than spending $600 - $800.

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Gamalot,

I have a 1985 model which had:
Overheat alarm
Low Oil alarm
No Oil alarm

I have now updated my gauges and converted my harness to System Check. You can update your harness cheaper than you think.
If you are interested in looking further, see this article I wrote.
http://www.whalercentral.com/articles...icle_id=72

I would suggest purchasing the updated VRO which is ethanol resistant and purchase a few wires, etc., and you are converted and updated.
I believe the newest version of the VRO was around $300